I have no doubt that when Queen Latifah took the lead role in HBO's Bessie , she knew she was doing something special. The film has taken eons to come together — in fact the film's writer and director Dee Rees was brought on to do a rewrite of the project before she became the director — but in the end, we've got a final product that is a clear labor of love. And while there are so many performances in this film worth praising, the one we'll all be talking about tomorrow is Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith, namely the nude scene that absolutely clinches her stake for a Emmy. But, there's much more to this all important scene than a simple lack of clothing. I'm not saying that an actress stripping down for a single scene is all it takes to win an award.
And Mo'Nique as Ma Rainey? And Michael K. Williams as Jack Gee? Because they were great.
The drinking comes later, but not much. The movie is a passion project for Queen Latifah, 45, who first auditioned for the part in Now a singer, actor, executive, TV personality, cosmetics spokeswoman and author, Queen Latifah may have developed a signature brand of feel-good feminism. She was makeup free sorry, Covergirl , dressed in fancy sweats, an Army jacket and pristine white sneakers, sleepy-eyed after an early morning flight from Los Angeles, where she lives.